Tag: Spirit of Truth

The Master Teacher…

Isaiah 48:17 (NIV)

This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.

I love this verse and the wisdom it imparts to us … the reminder we need each day of who God is and how He engages with us – His people:

Isaiah 48:16-19 (NIV)

16 “Come near me and listen to this: “From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.” And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, endowed with His Spirit. 17 This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. 18 If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea. 19 Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be blotted out nor destroyed from before me.”

Our Father declares He is the Lord our God … our Redeemer and the Holy One!  The Lord declares: “I AM HE; I AM the first and I AM the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.” (Isaiah 48:12-13) We need to keep this perspective that God is indeed our Creator and our lives were created for HIS glory. As we come to understand that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), we see our lives are in desperate need of redemption. We realize our lives are in full need of correction … a great salvation that we cannot provide for ourselves. It requires a sovereign act of forgiveness that can only come from the One who created us … through whom we receive the gift of His Holy Spirit to indwell us.

And here is the message: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you … who directs you in the way you should go.”  Do we heed His instructions?  Do we walk in the direction He shows us?  The Lord pleads with us – Keep My Commandments and your peace will be like a river … your well-being like the waves of the sea!  What more could He say?  What more should He say? The Covenant of Love … the New Covenant … are forged in the obedience of faith. So how does the relationship of discipleship with Christ work?  Consider this one pivotal lesson Jesus taught through humble, personal demonstration:

John 13:12-14 (NIV) – At the Last Supper

12 When Jesus had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

Oh, that every person would look to Jesus … the Master Teacher … the Light of the World … the living, everlasting Word of God … to teach us what is best for us and to direct us in the Way we should go!  What would be the outcome?  Peace and well-being flowing like a river within us!  What did Jesus say? “Whoever believe in me, as Scripture has said, river of living water will flow from within them.”  The Master Teacher said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the Rock.” (Cf. Matthew 7:24-25) And, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (Cf. John 14:26) Even now, I am reminded of what the Apostle John affirmed in this regard:

1 John 2:18-29 (NKJV)

18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. 26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

1 John 3:24 (NIV)

The one who keeps God’s commands lives in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us.

1 John 4:13 (NIV)

This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit.

Yes, God has assured us that we can KNOW what is best for us and the direction we should go! We can know these things because He Himself teaches us these things through His Word by the Holy Spirit He has given us in Christ Jesus.  Peter spoke to this when he affirmed: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” (Cf. 2 Peter 1:3) And the inspired writer of the Book of Hebrews asserted: “For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Cf. Hebrews 4:12) And Paul addressed discernment of spiritual knowledge as well:

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NIV)

10 These are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?” (Quoting Isaiah 64:4) But we have the mind of Christ.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

So Now You Know….

Have a Blessed Day!

My Refuge and My Shield

Psalm 119:114 (NIV)

You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.

So I may sound like a broken record, but it appears the Holy Spirit wants to continue to emphasize this truth with us; namely, that God is our refuge and our strength as He has declared in His Word to us!  Yes, we hope in His Word because that is how we KNOW through faith that He is with us … He surrounds us … He protects us!  Let’s just look at this section of Psalm 119 for the immediate context:

Psalm 119:113-120 (NIV)

ס Samekh

113 I hate double-minded people, but I love your law.
114 You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.
115 Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!
116 Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.
117 Uphold me, and I will be delivered; I will always have regard for your decrees.
118 You reject all who stray from your decrees, for their delusions come to nothing.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore I love your statutes.
120 My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws.

In a world where we feel surrounded by chaos and confusion and conflict and coercion and cancel there is a place of refuge and strength for believers. His name is Jesus! I did not say there is a place of hiding because we are not called to hide from the world; rather, we are to be His light in the world.  We are to be that city on a hill where it cannot be hidden. (Cf. Matthew 5:14-16) We need to remember the prayer of Jesus when He prayed for all believers:

John 17:13-21 (NIV)

13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 

Jesus wants us IN the world, but He prayed for God to protect us … to be our refuge from the evil one. So, we do not ignore what is happening in the world or stick our heads in the proverbial sand. Believers have been called … we are sent into the world to testify to the truth! That truth is God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (Cf. John 3:16-19) Yes, we are to engage the world with the light of the Gospel … with truth of the Word. That is all we can do … even though we know that believers will be hated for it:

John 15:18-27 (NIV)

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ (Cf. John 13:16) If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ (References to Psalms 35:19; 69:4) 26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father—He will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

So we need to know the Word of God. We need to know the Truth. And we do know – if we believe Jesus is the Christ, receive His sacrificial atonement for our sin, and become a new creation in Him. And through the Advocate who comes to indwell us, we receive wisdom and discernment. The Apostle John has elaborated on this for us:

1 John 4:1-6 (NIV)

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Do you see it?  Every spirit (that would be referencing a human spirit) that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.  This means that a person has received the Spirit of God through placing their faith in Jesus Christ. Then John goes on to refer to believers as “children who are from God.” Again, the emphasis is on having the Spirit of God within us because he affirms “the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  Yes, the Spirit of Truth is greater … He is more powerful than the spirit of falsehood. Why? “For everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. (Cf. 1 John 5:4) It is through faith in Christ we have overcome darkness and deception. Indeed, the Spirit of Truth has set us free! But the god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:4)

So believers should forever praise God for His mercy … for His gift of grace that removed the veil from before our eyes that we might see the light of the Gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  It is only by His grace that our eyes were opened and we were enabled to come to faith in the blood atonement He provided through Jesus. By His grace we are forgiven.  By His grace we are accepted. By His grace we are received into eternal life …  ONLY because of Jesus and no other reason. “ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Cf. Ephesians 2:8-9) If this does not humble us as believers, I’m not sure what will. I am reminded what Peter asserted in 1 Peter 4:17-18, “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the Gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (Cf. Proverbs 11:31) Indeed, how can we ever doubt the compassionate love God has demonstrated? His love is our refuge!  His love is our strength!  His love is our everlasting hope! His love is revealed through His Word! And, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Cf. John 1:14)

Lord Jesus, you are our refuge and strength because You have given us your Spirit … the Spirit of Truth … to indwell us and fill us with Your abiding presence and love.  Only in You is the wisdom and knowledge of God made known. Only in You is the great love of the Father fully expressed and experienced in our hearts. You are the true light that gives light to everyone. Oh, that the light you have given to us might be received in every heart. Oh, that every soul would come to your life …  the light of all mankind. (Cf. John 1:4) For You are the Living Word in which we hope and find shelter. You are the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through you. (Cf. John 14:6) And so I pray that we, your children, would be your image in this world just as you are the image of the Father. You have sent us into the world just as the Father sent You into the world. And so, I pray that through our lives and testimonies that your kindness will lead more people to repentance. I pray that your great love, which is rich in mercy, will bring life to those who are dead in transgressions. Oh, that your grace, Lord Jesus, would abound as your people proclaim the light and hope, the joy and peace, the truth and love of the Gospel … so that no one would perish but come to a knowledge of the truth and receive eternal life in you.  This is my prayer, Lord, and I ask in Your Great Name.  Amen….

So Now You Know….

Have a Blessed Day!